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Tuesday, November 01, 2016

On This Date In ISBL History: Miss Lesbian Prom

As I am in Oregon helping my Dad recuperate from knee surgery, I thought I’d do something I’ll call “On This Date In ISBL History” and repost some things from back when the blog was new, and newish … this was originally published November 1, 2010:

It looks like it might finally be over.

A federal judge has ordered the Itawamba County School District in Mississippi to pay $81,000 in legal fees and expenses in a lawsuit filed by Contsance McMillen, whose prom was cancelled, reinstated, then faked, all because she wanted to bring her girlfriend.US District Judge Glen Davidson, who ruled in March that McMillen's rights were violated, signed the order on Monday.

Constance McMillen and the ACLU sued Itawamba County School District to challenge the district's "ban" on same-sex prom dates. Once the suit was filed, the school canceled prom. Angry parents sponsored another dance, but tricked McMillen into going to a "sham prom" while other students partied elsewhere.

All of this because a girl wanted to bring her girlfriend to a dance.

Sidenote: the headline of the New York Times article was entitled "Judge Awards Legal Fees in Miss. Lesbian Prom Case".

I thought,There's a Miss Lesbian Prom somewhere?

Then I saw the period.

After the settlement, in a groundbreaking move for Mississippi, the school district agreed to implement policies that would prevent future discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for extracurricular and educational activities.

McMillen’s story received national attention and Glamour magazine named her Woman of the Year Award in 2010.

She appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and received a $30,000 scholarship — in 2012 enrolled at Northeast Mississippi Community College to study psychology.

She was invited to the White House and served as Grand Marshal of the New York Gay Pride Parade.